Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Ladybird, ladybird where have you been?

.

Have you seen your first ladybird wandering around this spring? I did a few weeks ago down by the River Almond in Perthshire. As I was taking a photograph of an old Cytisus scoparius/scotch broom seed head along the river bank I noticed there on the stem was a little 7 spot ladybird. Its botanical name is Coccinella 7-punctata and is the most common species in the UK.

.

First ladybird sighting of the year

.

Here in the UK you can take part in the yearly Ladybird Survey andI submitted these photographs today to the survey.

.

.

.

Here is the seedhead that lead me to find the ladybird.

..

Why is this so important these days to record Ladybird sightings?

In the UK we are being invaded by Harlequin ladybirds.

Taken from the Ladybird site:

A new ladybird has arrived in Britain . But not just any ladybird: this is the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, the most invasive ladybird on Earth.

The harlequin ladybird was introduced to North America in 1988, where it is now the most widespread ladybird species on the continent. It has already invaded much of of north-western Europe, and arrived in Britain in summer 2004.

There are 46 species of ladybird (Coccinellidae) resident in Britain and the recent arrival of the harlequin ladybird has the potential to jeopardise many of these.

.

In the UK there is also a survey form to fill in if you find a Harlequin Ladybird in your area. Most of the sightings so far have been in the South of England. On the Map there were sightings of this ladybird in my area during 2009 so I’ll be on the lookout this year.For now no one is really sure how much damage this Harlequin will do to
our native species. Its only through this survey that the scientists can
keep track of the native and non native species - and its up to us to
send them in the details they need.If anyone does come across a
Harlequin they are to just to try and take a photo of it and then leave
it alone as the scientists want to study its behaviour "in the field".

.

.

Do any of you watch for the sightings of the first ladybirds in your area? If you like you can leave your sighting details in the comments section of this post or if you live in the UK you could possibly take part in the Ladybird survey by clicking on this button.

Has anyone seen a Harlequin Ladybird in their area?

Interested in this topic? You might enjoy another article I’ve written called

Dear Rosie, This is all so alarming. I had not realised that there was a threat to our own native ladybirds and am so glad that you have brought this to my attention. What, do you imagine, is to be done?

It seems more and more that Nature is under threat from so many different quarters. I do admire your concern and the way that you are actively playing your part.

On a lighter note, I do hope that you had a really happy Mothering Sunday - no doubt with all of your family which must have been great fun.

From the information I've read Edith for now no one is really sure how much damage this Harlequin will do to our native species. Its only through this survey that the scientists can keep track of the native and non native species - and its up to us to send them in the details they need.

If anyone does come across a Harlequin they are to just to try and take a photo of it and then leave it alone as the scientists want to study its behaviour "in the field"

We had a terrible invasion of ladybugs a few years ago, I do not know if they were harlequins but they got in our house covered the walls,curtains,everything! Ladybugs in the coffee, ladybugs in the dishwater, ladybugs on the quilts. We were vacuuming ladybugs off the ceilings every couple hours, it was simply horrid! I've not been very fond of them ever since, little stinkers.

Very interesting post, Rosie. After a little more research, I realized that this is the same ladybird that is referred to in North America as the Asian lady beetle or Japanese ladybug. I will now do a little more observing when I spot a ladybird, and see what species are present in my garden. Such an informative post, as I didn't know that these ladybirds were having an effect on native populations.

Thanks for a very informative and interesting post Rosie (I too loved the photo of the little red ladybird!)I did have a terrible moment when I realised the invasive species you talk about looks an awful lot like the ladybug in my last post, but they are not the same species (thank goodness!)as the behaviour is very different (the ones in my garden don't arrive in mass numbers or invade the house, they just quietly eat my aphids) and the pupa look nothing like the one in your photo. I must find out if this harlequin/Asian ladybug has reached Australian shores or not!

Great information Rosie. I thought a ladybird was a ladybird I was completely unaware there were different species. It seems every genus, plant or animal is becoming overwhelmed by the most aggressive species in it's genera. I will keep my eyes open and scrutinize every ladybird, I see, when they arrive in a couple of months in my extreme northern garden, and count it's spots .

Yes, I allready saw several ladybirds this spring! Three C. septempunctata, a 22-spot ladybird, and an Oenopia conglobata (which hasn't an English name, as it is a rather local one, that is unknown in the UK.)Until now, I only saw two harlequin ladybirds here this year.

Very important post, Rosie. It's unfortunate that harlequins are so common and invasive, although they do at least eat pesky aphids, etc. We've had a few of the Asian variety indoors this winter, but they haven't multiplied or anything, so I just let them be until they succumb to a cat paw or it gets warm enough to let them outdoors.

I just wish that species didn't have to get invasive. Like the starlings that have found our garden. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take the 20 gauge to them, because I worry about them driving the smaller songbirds and the migrating redwings away. Maybe if I just stop feeding all the birds for a week or to the starlings would leave and I could entice my other feathered friends back? I realize we're mixing species here, but I've been worrying about this for a few days.

A very informative posting and some beautiful photos - unfortunately being in France we don't qualify for the research but I did infact find 2 ladybirds in the garden when I was doing a bit of pruning and tidying up earlier in the week - they are such useful insects especially when it comes to eating all the aphids! Hope you're having a good week yourself - Miranda x

Rosie I did NOT think there was a difference in these "ladybugs" Ladybirds! I too will pay closer attention to these..last year in general I saw very few ladybugs and butterflies.I saw my first ladybug yesterday..in my garden..will really pay closer atention now!!Thank you for info!

I didn't realize that the "ladybug" we mostly see here in the U.S. is an introduced and invasive species. I love the ladybirds I knew growing up in England and always assumed that the American ladybug was the same thing.

I don't tend to see very many ladybirds here. Their absence is rather notable, as my last two gardens certainly had them. I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled though, as I'm curious to see when they do show up, which ones we actually have.

Still too much snow for them here. I did stop by a nursery last week and they had just released hundreds of ladybirds (or as we like to call them here: ladybugs). I was tip toeing around the greenhouse so as not to squash any.

Hi Rosie, I seem to have hundreds of the Japanese or maybe Harlequin ladybugs inside! I guess they are really beetles. They seem to winter in the siding and come inside. I had no idea they were a danger to our more native beetles.

If you liked this article please retweet and share with your friends. You're welcome to share some of your own experiences in the comments and I'll catch up with you over the next few days! All comments are moderated before publishing so if you place a link in your comment it will go into the spam filter and your comment won't get published. If the comment form doesn't work you can always leave one on facebook or google plus